From pearl fishing to cultured pearl farming: a sustainable revolution A small but vibrant natural pearl trade still exists today. Affordability of cultured pearls led to their emergence and the gradual demise of the natural pearl trade from the 1920s onwards. Fishing for wild oysters was far from being ecologically sustainable in a number of areas. Overfishing of wild oysters in the quest for exquisite natural pearls in the Americas, French Polynesia, the Gulf of Mannar and other areas led to the depletion of many pearl oyster banks. Stories of these feats can be, for example, read in John Steinbeck’s The Pearl. Thousands of fishermen around the world were searching for natural pearls (found in wild oysters and formed without any human intervention). This generated great wealth for the Spanish crown and triggered what is known as the “Pearl Age” amongst European royals and aristocrats.
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An important period in pearl history were the first voyages of Christopher Columbus and other Spaniards in the 15th and 16th centuries when they discovered pearls and pearl oyster banks in Central and South America. Pearls were long a symbol of power and purity during the Middle Ages and many royals adorned themselves with pearl jewels.
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Important sources were the Red Sea and the Middle East. The origin of pearls was often explained in mythological and cosmological terms.Īlexander the Great’s reign (4th century BC) led to an increase in the trade and transport of pearls to the Western world. They feature in major religious texts such as the Bible and the Koran. Reports confirm that pearl shells were already used as decorative objects in 4th millennium BC Egypt. Pearls are intimately linked to human history.